Hi all,

Making a mileage run to LA this saturday, just looking for some suggestions as to what to do for the afternoon. I arrive at 12:18p Saturday and leave Sunday at 6:30a, so that leaves about 10 hours or so to see the sights. I already rented a Corvette, so that should be fun, just hope it doesn't rain. Any restaurant recommendations or must see attractions for a rare southern California visitor?? Thanks in Advance.

If you enjoy museum, I will recommend you stop by Getty Museum (www.getty.edu) for a nice tour (tour is free, but parking is $5). Then, drive to Santa Monica for beach, shopping, and plenty of nice food choices.

Cruising the sunset strip is also fun in the evening. Lots of sidwalk seating at the restaurants on sunset also. I also have fun driving aimlessly around the hollywood hills.

I agree with the Getty idea, the museum is fantastic. You should make a parking reservation ahead of time. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is also a very good museum.

Hitting any of the beaches during the day is always good. Just pick one.

I live 7 miles south of LAX in Hermosa Beach, My personal suggestions on a nice day are the strand anywhere from Hermosa Beach tothe south all the way up to Malibu to the North of LAX. Gladstones on the beach in Malibu is awesome, relaxing and just plain enjoyable. Dont know where you are staying but if it is in the south bay, there are many many great restaurants in the Beach cities. The getty I hear is stil ltough to get into on the weekends without a reservation, Maybe the Lakers, clips (stop laughing) Kings or Ducks are in town. You miss baseball season by a week. Take a cruise the Hollywood Hills/Bel Air/Brentwood and look at mansions, check out Pasadena (Old town) and have dinner and drinks, you can't do it all but there is so much and so little time, I haven't seen it all.

If it were me, I'd head south (traffic shouldn't be too bad if you leave around 1) to Laguna Beach. Walk around this charming town, visit the beautiful beach, have a meal on a cliff overlooking the Pacific.

I don't know of a prettier town in the U.S.

Or, you could go to Disneyland's new California adventure.

Or, you could try and rustle up some of the SoCal FT gang for a night out. They're very sociable and good folks.

Thanks for the great suggestions.

For what it's worth, I'm staying at the Hilton LAX. Also, would love a nice place to eat dinner, possibly with a TV to watch the Duke/MD game?

So far, I'm planning on first driving down to Newport Beach to look at a car that I'm interested in, then back up to find something to do around Hollywood/Beverly Hills, and then if time permits I might try to make it up to Malibu, but that might be pushing it. Is the Newport Beach idea too far out of the way?

JJefrey, don't forget that in the Pacific time zone, the first game starts at 2:42pm with your game starting 35 mins. after the end of the MSU/AZ game (so, maybe around 5:00pm or so). You might want to plan your journey back from Orange County around that time point.

Also, don't forget that Daylight Savings Time goes into effect on 1 April at 02:00 (no fooling)!

Good luck and have a great trip!

The distance from the LAX Hilton to the Newport Beach area is approximately 45 miles. On a Saturday, without traffic that's about a 45 minute freeway drive.

For a great dining experience in Malibu, eat at Wolfgang Puck's Granita. Too bad the old Getty isn't open yet...You could soak up old LA by staying in town at the Biltmore, visiting the Modern Art Museum and seeing all the outdoor art along the way. The Temporary Contemporary is nearby and Grand Central Market is an interesting experience with excellent Mexican food for the truly Mexican. Take the outdoor elevators at the Bonaventure Hotel. Walk Olvera Street. See the old beautiful railroad station where the movie stars once frequented.

These are all pretty good suggestions. Last year, I also spent a day in the LAX area to escape the Comdex craziness for a day, and I really enjoyed my time (also during my vacation after New Year).
Just keep in mind that you can spend lots of time driving around instead of relaxing. Although the freeways might not be too congested, it takes time to get around. So if you want to lay on the beach, you'd better decide on a smaller number of things to do IMHO. It makes your day more enjoyable. Have fun!

I just stayed at the LAX Hilton, and I'll try to do a trip report soon. Floors 12-14 are the only one's with high speed net access, suites and the exec lounge are on floor 16, and club rooms are on 17. So upgraded floors are 14-17. Floor 14 is at least as good (probably better) than floor 17. There was other discussion re whether floor 14 is really an upgrade. The LAX Hilton and LAX Marriott are next door to each other on the same street. I was in LAX for a week, but due to the meetings etc., I never got away from the Hilton/Marriott. Its good to read about things I missed, etc. as I will probably be back in LAX next year and maybe could go a day earlier, etc.

The only free time I ever seem to have when I'm in LA seems to be late at night, but I wouldn't miss Cantors Deli (436 N. Fairfax Avenue) open 24 hours. It's the second best pastrami in the US, after Katz's.

(edit for sp)

[This message has been edited by tigertiger (edited 03-27-2001).]

This won't work for you, since it's not open on Saturday...but IMHO, the most important museum I've ever been to was the Museum of Tolerance. All the major hotels in LA can guide you to it.

Have been thru LAX a million times it seems over the years, as all flights from here have always gone via LAX, but last trip went to the Getty Museum. Agree with comments above. Worth a trip to LAX on its own to visit, it really is. And that is just the OUTSIDE.

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~ Glen ~

Might be worth a thought. Please read at least the original post before commenting. The question was what to do in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 31st. Why the last two posts well past that date? One was by a "newbie" the other by a count collector? IMHO